Dignity Health Posts 2016 Financial Results

SAN FRANCISCO – September 22, 2016 – Dignity Health, one of the nation's largest health systems, today announced the results of its 2016 fiscal year, posting a net loss of $238 million for the year ended June 30.

The organization recorded an operating loss of $63 million on $12.6 billion in revenue. The decline in operating income is attributed to a more challenging industry environment during the fiscal year, as well as lower income from California Provider Fee funds due to timing of government approvals.

Investments lost $124 million due to market fluctuations. Results were released following a standard audit of Dignity Health's financial statements by its public accounting firm.

Over the course of the fiscal year, Dignity Health invested $680 million in capital projects. As a not-for-profit health system Dignity Health reinvests its earnings in hospital improvements, technology enhancements, new clinical programs, expansion, and renovation of existing facilities and equipment. The national health system also invested $2.2 billion in charity care, community health programs, and other community support programs including subsidizing the unreimbursed costs of government programs.

Commitment to Mission of Service

Lloyd H. Dean, Dignity Health's president/chief executive officer, said the organization has remained true to its core mission of service and investing in care delivery while adapting to the challenges of reduced reimbursements and changing revenue models.

"We are proud of the leadership role Dignity Health has played in expanding access to care,” Dean said. “We are continuing to make strides forward to address the changing health care environment by finding innovative ways to deliver cost effective, high quality care.”

Dignity Health and other providers will continue to experience pressure from private payers to reduce costs, Dean said. At the same time we are making capital and program investments for patients and meeting unfunded mandates for information technology and seismic upgrades.

Operational Improvements Underway

In order to improve financial performance, Dignity Health initiated an operational improvement plan, said Dan Morissette, senior executive vice president/ chief financial officer. The objective is to adjust the cost structure of Dignity Health to meet the changing demands and reimbursement trends in the health care marketplace. The plan involves initiatives that include: improving productivity, achieving efficiencies through savings from supply chain and revenue cycle management, as well as enhancing commercial revenue growth.

Additionally, the organization is building new partnerships and joint ventures to support and enhance new care delivery models. “The industry is expanding from an acute care delivery system to one more focused on managing people’s health through a continuum of care,” Morissette said. “Dignity Health is solidly positioned to invest in our healing ministry and fulfill our mission of service to people and communities.”

Strategic Initiatives

Dignity Health teamed up with strategic partners on initiatives to improve health outcomes, including:

Improving Access to Care

Dignity Health has embarked on a micro-hospital – or neighborhood hospital – strategy in several service areas. In North Las Vegas, Dignity Health-St. Rose Dominican announced plans to open neighborhood hospitals in partnership with Emerus, with four slated to open in 2017. These will focus on increasing access to high-quality emergency care in underserved areas, and will also offer primary care and wellness services. They will have six to eight inpatient beds each, compared with the 100 to 400 beds inside Dignity Health's existing medical center campuses. The neighborhood hospitals enable Dignity Health to serve less critically ill patients closer to home, with access to larger acute care centers when needed.

Dignity Health has formed a joint venture with GoHealth Urgent Care to open urgent care centers in the San Francisco Bay Area over the next 12 months. The centers will combine Dignity Health's clinical excellence and history of compassionate care with GoHealth's award-winning clinic design and track record of best-in-class patient satisfaction ratings. The centers will operate seven days a week and will be staffed with Dignity Health clinicians to meet consumers where they are, and will welcome walk-in patients. The first of 12 centers was opened in San Francisco in August 2016.

Investing in the Future

Dignity Health continues to partner with novel innovative companies such as Augmedix and Propeller Health. Augmedix uses Google Glass to allow doctors to spend more time with patients through greater efficiencies in entering documentation in electronic health records. Dignity Health teamed with Propeller Health on a study demonstrating that the use of a digital health technology application improved asthma control. The findings could lead to more timely interventions and enhanced asthma management.

About Dignity Health

Dignity Health, one of the nation’s largest health care systems, is a 22-state network of more than 9,000 physicians, 62,000 employees, and 400 care centers, including hospitals, urgent and occupational care, imaging centers, home health, and primary care clinics. Headquartered in San Francisco, Dignity Health is dedicated to providing compassionate, high-quality and affordable patient-centered care with special attention to the poor and underserved. For more information, please visit our website at www.dignityhealth.org. You can also follow us on Twitter and Facebook.